Even More Canadians Are Going To Australia To Save & Treat Animals From The Fires
They want to help as many animals as they can.
With so many animals being affected by the fires in Australia, a group of Canadians is stepping up to help all the creatures they can. The group of volunteers from all across the country will be heading down under and plan to do their part when they get there. These Canadians in Australia will rescue animals from the flames and help care for them.
The movement was started by Brad Pattison of Kelowna, B.C. As the fires continue to rage, he was spurred into action at the thought of animals suffering.
He organized a team of Canadians to go and help those that are being affected by the blazes.
Pattison and other volunteers from Alberta and Ontario will fly to Oceanic country and work with local wildlife rescue agencies to not only treat animals that have already been rescued but also go and take more creatures out of danger.
"We want to be the ones who help that little soul," Pattison told The Canadian Press.
The team has been raising money for medical supplies to bring with them.
Once they arrive in Melbourne, the group of volunteers will go to Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary to help multiple different species that need care.
The hope is to then move to different areas where animals need help and get them out of the danger zone.
This isn't the first rescue mission for Pattison. The dog trainer, has previously led animal rescue teams in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, in Haiti after an earthquake in 2010 and in Calgary after flooding in 2013.
He believes that in Australia, a majority of animals will have serious burns and the team will have to decide what's best for the animals.
"Does it need to be euthanized? Does it have a second chance at life? These are the questions and turmoil that we'll be going through," Pattison said.
Chris Dickman, a professor at with the University of Sydney's faculty of science, estimated on January 8 that in the state of New South Wales, more than 800 million animals have been killed in the fires and more than one billion have been impacted nationally.
This group of volunteers is the latest in a long line of Canadians who have gone to Australia to help.
A team of fire specialists from Canada even got cheers and applause when they arrived at an airport in Sydney to help with the fires.
Locally, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh used his platform to raise awareness about the fires in an emotional Instagram post in which he said it's "painful" to see all the devastation.
Kelli Boogemans, one of the volunteers with the team preparing to head out said "it's not going to be easy. But we so strongly feel that it's something we need to do and if we can save a handful of animals it was worth it."
The team plans to be in Australia for four weeks.